michael berger

(Phoenix, August 30, 2016) – The National Association for the Deaf (NAD) has awarded Sherri Collins, executive director for the Arizona Commission for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing (ACDHH), the Michael Berger Excellence in Board Service Award at the 53rd Biennial National Association for the Deaf Conference held in Phoenix.

NAD Board President Chris Wagner when presenting Collins with her award, said, “Sherri implements the NAD’s values in her daily work as a board member to better position the deaf community to achieve its goals. I am honored to work alongside a professionally dedicated individual much as Sherri and I congratulate her on this well-deserved recognition.”

The Michael Berger Excellence in Board Service Award is presented in recognition of an individual NAD Board member who has proven to be extraordinarily dedicated and committed to the mission, vision, and values of the NAD in service to the organization above and beyond the duties and expectations of NAD Board members. The award’s namesake comes from the late Michael Berger, an NAD Board member from Chicago who passed away in 2013.

As ACDHH’s executive director, Collins advocates, strengthens and implements state policies affecting deaf and hard of hearing individuals, and their relationship to the public, industry, healthcare and educational opportunities. She has held the position of executive director since May 1998. Additionally, Collins serves on the Phoenix College, Interpreter Preparation Advisory Board; the board of the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind; the Sequoia School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Governing Board; the Arizona Statewide Independent Living Council; and as a Region IV Board Representative for NAD.

Collins received her Bachelor of Science degree in child development from Gallaudet University and her Master of Education degree in adult education and organizational development from North Carolina State University. She resides in Goodyear.

ABOUT ACDHH:

Established in 1977 to improve the quality of life for deaf and hard of hearing residents, ACDHH serves as a statewide information referral center for issues related to people with hearing loss and aspires to be a national leader in communication access, support services and community empowerment throughout the state. The purpose of the organization, and its commissioners, is to ensure, in partnership with the public and private sector, accessibility for the deaf and hard of hearing to improve their quality of life.